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Sunday, 8 November 2015

Flash 2x01 and 2x02 Review

I'll admit it took some prodding to get me to watch Flash in the first place. It wasn't that I didn't want to, per say, just that I felt I didn't have time for something new. As it was, when I finally started I couldn't stop and watched the whole series in one week. I was therefore then waiting anxiously for the new season to begin. Luckily I only had a few weeks left to wait, as Flash season 2 premiered on Sky 1 on October 13th. Catching up on my reviews before 2x05 airs on Tuesday, you'll find my review of the first two episodes below.

2x01 - The Man Who Saved Central City

The Man Who Saved Central City was a good season opener that I really quite enjoyed, but at the same time there were some parts that felt a little off, perhaps even rushed.

We begin weeks after the singularity was miraculously closed. I feel a little cheated in this aspect, but we did get a flashback revealing exactly how this happened so I can let that go. What I'm more 'upset' about is how the show decided to 'kill off' (We don't know for sure) the character of Ronnie in such a cheap way. If this aspect was crucially needed within the story, it shouldn't have just been done in a flashback. Similarly moving forward to half-way through the episode where Wells has decided to - out of the blue - leave Barry a video message where he admits to killing Nora Allen. How coincidental! Now they can get Henry out of prison, only for him to disappear because there's actually nothing in the show for him to do! Wow. How fortunate was that?

What I did like about Ronnie having been killed as well as Eddie was how the guilt of that manifested in Barry. The city was making a big deal of Flash having saved them, but Barry not only knew who the real heroes were, he also hadn't wanted any of that to happen in the first place. I loved how he'd gone solo, pushing away everyone, and how everyone had drifted away from each other too. I thought it was a nice opener to have everyone scattered and have it take the events of the episode to bring them back together and prove - once and for all - that they are stronger as a team. I also enjoyed the humorous moments of Cisco working with Joe at the Police Station very much.

Having been a WWE fan, Edge was great as The Atom Smasher. He was truly quite frightening and yet still gave you the ability to empathise with him at the end. He was also cause for a lovely scene between Cisco and Dr Stein where our beloved tech-nerd allows the intellectual half of Firestorm to name this week's meta. I really do love their budding friendship.

Cisco himself had some great character development in the form of discovering a bit about his own metahuman powers. I said in my review of season 1 that I was excited to see how this arc was going to play out, and the show it seems is not going to disappoint. Although only a brief minute, Cisco was clearly frightened by what he'd seen and Carlos Valdes has mentioned* that the character's transition to Vibe isn't going to be a pleasant one. The show is clearly going to tease us for a good few weeks.

What I most enjoyed about the episode however was everything that related to this season's main story arc. Although we never saw him, I loved how the single word 'Zoom' by Atom Smasher made me shiver a little. He's clearly going to be even worse than Reverse Flash was, and that makes me extremely excited for the season ahead.

The best moment of the episode has to go to the reveal of Jay Garrick however. Not only was it a little funny in that he'd managed to break into Star Labs without anyone knowing just as they were saying that no-one would be able to do that, but Teddy Sears played the short scene so well that you can just tell he's going to be shaking up the stability Team Flash thought they'd just gotten back. Not to mention the fact that he's Jay Garrick. Anyone who knows of the comic books will know that's pretty awesome in itself.

I absolutely adored this episode for multiple reasons. We were treated to a fabulously creepy introduction to Zoom who seems to be much more of a demonic speedster than Reverse Flash was. Though he didn't get very much screen time, his appearance in the episode has still made me extremely excited for the rest of the season.

Cisco was central this week with regards to character development as we saw his meta-human powers expand further and save the day. After last week's quick "vibe" we saw Cisco begin the journey to controlling his powers when he used them to tap into this week's meta-villain's particles to find out where he was holding Patty Spivot. There was also a beautiful scene between himself and Dr Stein where the remaining half of Firestorm discovered the secret Cisco was keeping.

Speaking of Dr Stein, his collapse at the end of the episode left me anxious for the third episode in order to see what would happen. We all know he'll be okay as he's scheduled to appear in Legends of Tomorrow but considering Arrow's penchant for killing characters off and then bringing them back, we never know. It was a very tense ending.

Patty was an intriguing new character introduced in this episode, who I feel brought back some of the passion and excitement back to the show with regards to meta-humans. It's obvious that our core team is so used to them by now, but it was still nice to see the story through a new characters' eyes and see what someone else thinks about the meta-human crisis. Her flirting with Barry was adorable, and very refreshing after the Barry and Iris debacle that I hope the writers never go back to. I also loved the throwback to the Flash of Two Worlds comic cover with both Barry and Jay jogging over simultaneously to help her up.

Sand demon was an intriguing villain in regards to his meta-human abilities, but I think the set up of 'multiple worlds = multiple versions of the same person' took away from any character building that could have been done with him. His powers were cool, as was the way Team Flash despatched him using science, but the character himself was flat and dull. When it comes to villains, power isn't everything. I for one love Captain Cold and Golden Glider, despite them not having any actual powers.

What I felt let down the episode the most though was Iris and Joe. As much as I love the characters, it doesn't feel like they're being given very much to do and so I feel like their presence is slowing down the scenes. The same goes for Caitlyn. In season one Caitlyn was one of my favourite characters and I love Danielle Panabaker, but beyond flirting with Jay which seems forced and uncomfortable, I'm not really sure what her purpose is anymore.

Despite a few letdowns, Flash of Two Worlds receives a near perfect 4.5 stars.

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About Me

I am a 25 year old book nerd from the North West of England. I'm a big fan of YA and fantasy, but I'll read just about anything. Aside from reading I'm an avid film/TV fan and gamer, with a constantly creative mind. This blog is my home for everything arty.